606 Federal Register / Vol. 90, No. 3 / Monday, January 6, 2025 / Notices 

TABLE 1—TAKE ANALYSIS 1—Continued 

Species Authorized 

take Scaled take Abundance 2 Percent abundance 

Striped dolphin ................................................................................................. 3,185 914 5,634 16.2 

Fraser’s dolphin ............................................................................................... 457 131 1,665 7.9 

Risso’s dolphin ................................................................................................. 315 93 1,974 4.7 

Blackfish 4 ......................................................................................................... 3,233 954 6,113 15.6 

Short-finned pilot whale ................................................................................... 803 237 2,741 8.6 

1Scalar ratios were applied to ‘‘Authorized Take’’ values as described at 86 FR 5322, 5404 (January 19, 2021) to derive scaled take numbers 

shown here. 2Best abundance estimate. For most taxa, the best abundance estimate for purposes of comparison with take estimates is considered here to 

be the model-predicted abundance (Garrison et al., 2023). For Rice’s whale, Atlantic spotted dolphin, and Risso’s dolphin, the larger estimated 

SAR abundance estimate is used. 3 Includes 13 take by Level A harassment and 194 takes by Level B harassment. Small numbers determination made on basis of scaled Level 

B harassment take plus authorized Level A harassment take. 4The ‘‘blackfish’’ guild includes melon-headed whales, false killer whales, pygmy killer whales, and killer whales. 

Based on the analysis contained 

herein of LLOG’s proposed survey 

activity described in its LOA 

application, the previous analysis from 

the 7 active LOAs, and the anticipated 

take of marine mammals, NMFS finds 

that small numbers of marine mammals 

will be taken relative to the affected 

species or stock sizes (i.e., less than onethird of the best available abundance 

estimate) and therefore the taking is of 

no more than small numbers. 

Authorization 

NMFS has determined that the level 

of taking for this LOA request is 

consistent with the findings made for 

the total taking allowable under the 

incidental take regulations and that the 

amount of take authorized under the 

LOA is of no more than small numbers. 

Accordingly, we have issued an LOA to 

LLOG authorizing the take of marine 

mammals incidental to its geophysical 

survey activity, as described above. 

Dated: December 31, 2024. 

Catherine Marzin, 

Acting Director, Office of Protected Resources, 

National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2024–31750 Filed 1–3–25; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

Notice of Cashes Ledge Site Added to 

the Inventory of Areas for Possible 

Designation as National Marine 

Sanctuaries 

AGENCY: Office of National Marine 

Sanctuaries (ONMS), National Ocean 

Service (NOS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Department of Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: On June 13, 2014, NOAA 

published a final rule establishing the 

Sanctuary Nomination Process, allowing 

communities to submit nominations to 

NOAA for consideration as new 

national marine sanctuaries. The rule 

outlined the review process, national 

significance criteria, and management 

considerations that NOAA uses to 

evaluate nominations for inclusion in 

the inventory of areas that could 

eventually be considered for 

designation. The rule also states that 

NOAA will publish a Federal Register 

notice when areas have been added to 

the inventory of successful nominations. 

This notice announces that NOAA has 

added the Cashes Ledge area to the 

inventory; the agency is not moving 

forward with a designation at this time. 

DATES: Applicable January 3, 2025. 

ADDRESSES: Matt Brookhart, Eastern 

Regional Director, NOAA Office of 

National Marine Sanctuaries, 1315 EastWest Highway, Silver Spring, Maryland 

20910, and at https://nominate.

noaa.gov/nominations/. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Matt 

Brookhart, Eastern Regional Director, 

NOAA Office of National Marine 

Sanctuaries, matt.brookhart@noaa.gov, 

or at 301–452–4177. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background 

The National Marine Sanctuaries Act 

(NMSA) (16 U.S.C. 1431 et seq.) 

authorizes the Secretary of Commerce to 

identify and designate as national 

marine sanctuaries areas of the marine 

environment, including the Great Lakes, 

which are of special national 

significance; to manage these areas as 

the National Marine Sanctuary System; 

and to provide for the comprehensive 

and coordinated conservation and 

management of these areas and the 

activities affecting them in a manner 

which complements existing regulatory 

authorities. Section 303 of the NMSA, 

16 U.S.C. 1433, provides national 

marine sanctuary designation standards 

and factors required in determining 

whether an area qualifies for 

consideration as a potential national 

marine sanctuary, and section 304, 16 

U.S.C. 1434, establishes procedures for 

national marine sanctuary designation 

and implementation. Regulations 

implementing the NMSA and each 

national marine sanctuary are codified 

in part 922 of title 15 of the Code of 

Federal Regulations. 

On June 13, 2014, NOAA issued a 

final rule that established the Sanctuary 

Nomination Process and finalized the 

national significance criteria and 

management considerations it will use 

to review new national marine 

sanctuary nominations (79 FR 33851). If 

NOAA determines a nomination 

adequately meets the final criteria and 

considerations, it may place that 

nomination in an inventory of areas to 

consider for designation as a national 

marine sanctuary. NOAA also stated 

that it would send a letter of notification 

to the nominator and publish a Federal 

Register notice identifying areas that 

have been added to the inventory of 

successful nominations. This notice 

documents that NOAA is adding the 

Cashes Ledge area to the inventory. 

NOAA is not designating any new 

national marine sanctuaries with this 

action. Any proposed designations of 

areas on the inventory would be 

conducted by NOAA as a separate 

process under the NMSA, 

Administrative Procedure Act (5 U.S.C. 

Subchapter II), National Environmental 

Policy Act (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), and 

other applicable authorities. 

II. Cashes Ledge Sanctuary Nomination 

Added to the Inventory 

Conservation Law Foundation (CLF) 

nominated the Cashes Ledge area to be 

considered for designation as a national 

marine sanctuary on July 29, 2024. CLF 

identified a 766 mi2 area around Cashes 


khammond on DSK9W7S144PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 90, No. 3 / Monday, January 6, 2025 / Notices 607 

1 12 U.S.C. 5531, 5536. 

2 15 U.S.C. 1681 et seq. 

3 12 CFR part 1022. 

Ledge, which is located 90 miles east of 

Portsmouth, New Hampshire in the Gulf 

of Maine. This area includes not just 

Cashes Ledge, but also Parker Ridge and 

Sigsbee Ridge, which collectively form 

a 32 mile long granite ridge that rises 

sharply from the sea floor and runs 

parallel to the coastline. CLF nominated 

the Cashes Ledge area for consideration 

as a national marine sanctuary to protect 

its nationally significant ecological 

resources. These include dense kelp 

forests, habitat for species such as cod, 

Atlantic wolffish, halibut, and flounder, 

and globally significant populations of 

marine mammals, such as North 

Atlantic right whales, and seabirds, 

such as Atlantic puffins. CLF also 

nominated the Cashes Ledge area for 

consideration in order to better protect 

the Gulf of Maine ecosystem, which 

New England’s coastal communities 

depend on economically for tourism, 

shipping, offshore energy, and 

recreational and commercial fishing. 

Based on information included in the 

nomination, including the comment 

letters submitted with the nomination, 

as well as NOAA’s internal analysis, 

NOAA has determined that the 

nomination is responsive to the 11 

national significance criteria and 

management considerations it uses to 

review nominations. Therefore, this 

notice serves to inform the public of the 

agency’s decision to add the Cashes 

Ledge area to the inventory of successful 

nominations. 

At this time, NOAA is not initiating 

a sanctuary designation process. In 

adding the Cashes Ledge area to the 

inventory, NOAA does not endorse or 

imply endorsement of any specific 

boundaries, regulations or management 

measures in the Cashes Ledge 

nomination. Should NOAA decide to 

initiate a sanctuary designation process 

for Cashes Ledge in the future, it would 

establish a highly public, multi-year 

process for exploring possibilities for 

sanctuary boundaries, regulations and 

programs in partnership with other 

Federal agencies, Tribal Nations, State 

governments, stakeholders and the 

public. 

III. Classification 

A. National Environmental Policy Act 

(NEPA) 

NOAA has concluded that the action 

of adding the Cashes Ledge area to the 

inventory of successful nominations 

will not have a significant effect, 

individually or cumulatively, on the 

human environment because this action 

is administrative in nature and does not 

designate or propose to designate any 

new national marine sanctuaries. NOAA 

has further determined that this action 

is not connected to a larger action, and 

does not involve extraordinary 

circumstances precluding the use of a 

categorical exclusion in accordance 

with NEPA (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.). 

Therefore, this action is categorically 

excluded from the requirement to 

prepare an environmental assessment or 

environmental impact statement, in 

accordance with NOAA Administrative 

Order 216–6A Environmental Review 

Procedures, and the NOAA NEPA 

Companion Manual. As defined in the 

NOAA NEPA Companion Manual, 

Appendix E, categorical exclusion 

category G7, the proposed action is a 

notice of administrative and procedural 

nature and for which any environmental 

effects are too broad and speculative to 

lend themselves to meaningful analysis 

at this time and will be subject later to 

the NEPA process, as applicable. Should 

NOAA decide to propose the 

designation of a national marine 

sanctuary, each individual national 

marine sanctuary designation process 

will be subject to case-by-case analysis, 

as required under NEPA and as outlined 

in section 304(a)(2)(A) of the NMSA. 

Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1431 et seq. 

John Armor, 

Director, Office of National Marine 

Sanctuaries, National Ocean Service, 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration. 

[FR Doc. 2024–30702 Filed 1–3–25; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–NK–P 

CONSUMER FINANCIAL PROTECTION 

BUREAU 

Supervisory Highlights, Issue 37 

(Winter 2024) 

AGENCY: Consumer Financial Protection 

Bureau. 

ACTION: Supervisory Highlights. 

SUMMARY: The Consumer Financial 

Protection Bureau (CFPB) is issuing its 

thirty seventh edition of Supervisory 

Highlights. 

DATES: This edition of Supervisory 

Highlights covers recent supervisory 

findings in the areas of deposits, 

furnishing, and short-term small dollar 

lending. The findings in this edition of 

Supervisory Highlights cover select 

examinations that were generally 

completed between January 1, 2024, to 

October 1, 2024. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Jaclyn Sellers, Senior Counsel, at (202) 

435–7449. If you require this document 

in an alternative electronic format, 

please contact CFPB_Accessibility@

cfpb.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

1. Introduction 

The Consumer Financial Protection 

Bureau’s (CFPB) Supervision program 

assesses supervised institutions’ 

compliance with Federal consumer 

financial law including unfair, 

deceptive, or abusive acts or practices 

(UDAAPs) prohibited by the Consumer 

Financial Protection Act of 2010 (the 

CFPA).1

This edition of Supervisory Highlights 

covers recent supervisory findings in 

the areas of deposits, furnishing, and 

short-term small dollar lending. In 

connection with deposits, Supervision 

continues to find that supervised 

institutions are charging consumers 

unfair overdraft and non-sufficient 

funds fees, and this edition provides an 

update on Supervision’s work in this 

space. Aside from the refunds discussed 

in the context of deposits accounts 

below, mortgage originators and 

servicers have also recently reported 

issuing refunds related to unfair, 

deceptive, or otherwise unlawful fees 

and charges, which the CFPB 

anticipates reporting on in an upcoming 

edition of Supervisory Highlights. In 

short, mortgage servicers have reported 

issuing $4,251,815 in refunds for 91,931 

affected loans. Mortgage originators 

reported issuing $115,605,024 in 

refunds for 134,912 affected loans. In 

connection with furnishing, examiners 

continue to find violations of the Fair 

Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) 2 and its 

implementing regulation, Regulation V.3

These violations include failing to 

maintain policies and procedures 

regarding identify theft and the accuracy 

and integrity of information. 

Additionally, examiners continue to 

find that furnishers are not investigating 

indirect disputes. This edition of 

Supervisory Highlights also includes, for 

the first time, supervisory findings in 

connection with Buy Now, Pay Later 

and paycheck advance products. More 

specifically examiners identified 

multiple violations of law including 

UDAAPs in connection with both Buy 

Now Pay Later and paycheck advance 

products. This edition also highlights 

how weak technology controls can 

cause or contribute to violations of 

Federal consumer financial law. For 

example, Supervision found that the 

way that core processors configured 

their platforms caused violations of 

Federal consumer financial law. 


khammond on DSK9W7S144PROD with NOTICES